Just Juniors Journal
Let's have a big hand.
Or a lot of little ones.
Issue #16
Series 2
April 2001
"Choose to chance the rapids;
Dare to dance the tides."
-Garth Brooks
HANDS ON
LOCK HAVEN
Part One Of Two
GIVE A HELPING HAND
....Or you could just sign one! Why? For domestic violence. Stand up against it!
Lou had photocopies of hands printed at Reese's Print Shop on brightly colored paper. The most popular colors are purple, blue, and pink. Then, LS Kids Vesta Jones, Brenda Geyer, Staci Wyland, Debbie Benfield, and Ginger White are asking people to sign their name and date on the hand.
The quote on the hands reads,"I will not use my hands or words for hurting."
Once the hands are signed, they go up on the wall of the Ross Library, for everyone to see. They will remain there for all of April. "I'll miss them when it's time for them to come down," said Andrea, a local librarian. "They really brighten up that wall."
Over eighty hands have been signed, and still can be. So, if you're against domestic violence, sign a hand!
-Brenda Geyer
-Give us a hand
SEXUAL ASSAULT
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Sexual assault is any forced sexual activity on one person by another. The principle of sexual assault is power and control, not sex. One in three women and one in eleven men will be sexually assaulted in his or her lifetime. Sixty to eighty percent of the reported assaults are committed by someone the victim knew. Sexual assault can happen to anyone, anywhere. Survivors of sexual assault range in age from infants to the elderly.
Some things that can help reduce the risk of being sexually assaulted during a date are recognizing the limits and making them clear. Don't assume the other person is really who they say and make themselves out to be. Avoid excessive drugs and alcohol that may interfere with your judgement. Don't leave drinks unattended.
At other times, suggestions would include locking all doors when driving. Keep doors and windows locked at home. And just be alert and aware of your surroundings. For help if you've been sexually assaulted, your telephone book should have hotlines for you. In the Houston area, the Houston Area Women's Center Volunteer Hotline is (713) 528-6798, extension 272.
-Vesta Jones
-Staff
PASSOVER
Passover, a Jewish holiday, began at sundown on Sunday, April 8. Passover begins with Seder, an elaborate meal, which celebrates the Exodus, the liberation of the Jewish people form slavery in Egypt.
My mother and I had a women's Seder. Mom invited my Aunt Joanne and my cousin Megan. I invited Brenda Geyer. We served dinner on a Seder plate, a decorative plate used during the first meal of Passover.
We had charoset, a mixture of wine, fruit, nuts, and spices. This symbolizes the mortar that the Jews used to make bricks while they were slaves. We also ate matzo, unleavened bread; lettuce to symbolize the maror or bitter herbs; and karpas, parsley and celery dipped in salt water to symbolize the sweat and tears of the slaves.
And then we sang and danced, after dinner (Well, after Mom made Brenda and me do the dishes.) We danced to remember how Miriam and the Israelites danced and sang at the shores of the Red Sea after escaping the Egyptian army.
It was a nice night. Maybe I'll invite Brenda over for Hannukah next year, too.
-Ginger White
-There any leftover matzo?
WHITE FLAG OVER: Staci Wyland
Of the new generation of LS Kids, the ones who didn't come from the previous group, one of the most active, dedicated kids has been Staci Wyland. Staci joined the group in August, with the Regatta as her first official project.
"Vesta signed me up," she says. "She asked if I wanted to go to a meeting, and I decided to join. It seemed like a fun thing to do."
And, in her spare time, when she's not with the group? "Well, I sit on my butt all day," claims Staci. "I don't really do anything....I'll write my articles when Lou needs me to."
Staci, at this writing looking for a job, wants to go into nursing of some sort one day. She shows an interest in helping the afflicted, always turning out for projects to help victims of disease or injury, such as next month's project with the American Cancer Society.
"My favorite memory from the group...." she muses,"That would have to be the trip to New York in January....Or the trip to Lou's parents. I like the trips."
Then she smiles. "But, no, actually....I think my favorite memory is when Lou almost lit himself on fire trying to get the charcoal started at the last campout. He was standing the spraying on lighter fluid, and lit a match. Just as John [Mayes, former Sergeant-At-Arms] was saying,'Lou, maybe you better step away from....' the whole thing went up in a flash." She laughs. "Lou went leaping back. But the fire started, and we cooked hot dogs. He forgot First Aid Cream, too."
-Ginger White
-Staff
The Just Juniors Journal Is:
Editor: Lou
President, Ethical Advisor: Vesta Jones
Vice-President: Brenda Geyer
Secretary: Staci Wyland
Staff: Debbie Benfield, Ginger White
ENDNOTE
By Lou
I was at work when I got the news. There is something inherently, completely sad about the death of a baby.
My friends Shawn and Mandy had lost their child, little Janel. She died a crib death at three months old.
I couldn't believe it. I have known Shawn and Mandy for a long time. In fact, I did the photography at their wedding. I was one of the first ones to find out that Janel had been born, when Mandy's mother rushed in and told me that night.
And now, she was gone. A little life, gone forever.
They held a viewing on a Tuesday night. I attended, and talked to Shawn and Mandy. There is nothing to say that can make someone feel better in those situations. It's even harder for me, because I'm an atheist. I don't honestly believe that the deceased go on to a better place....They're just gone. All I could tell them was how sorry I was.
When I was a child, my grandfather used to tell me that death wasn't as permanent as we'd thought. When I would find a dead bird outside, we would take it out back, by the fields, and throw it into the air. As it's body arced down toward the field, it would vanish in the darkness, and we'd say that the bird had been made into a star. And my grandfather would point out the star, far away in the sky, and tell me that every time I looked at that star, I'd think of the bird.
I stood over the coffin and looked at little Janel. She had her teddy bear with her, and her ears were pierced. It's funny the things you remember. I remember noticing that her little ears were pierced, and thinking that she would never get a chance to try out new earrings for them.
I looked down at the tiny, adorable little girl. A child's coffin is so painfully small. And this tiny life, now gone, as if it had never been.
Except that's not true, either. Because she had touched all of us, in a way that we will never forget. In her short time here, she reached all of our hearts, and we will all always remember her.
On my way home, I got out a copy of Janel's obituary. I walked down to the Jay Street Bridge, and wrapped the obit around a rock. And I stood, for a moment, on the bridge.
Then I threw it.
I hurled the rock as high as I could, out over the river. And it disappeared, into the dark night. I looked up and picked out the star it had arced toward.
That's your star, Janel, I thought. That's the star you became, and no matter what, every time I look at that star, I'll think of you. You weren't here long, but I'll never forget you.
Tears in my eyes, I turned to leave.
Far down below, in the river, there was a splash.
-Lou
-We are all headed toward starhood, one day